In light of multiple recent allegations of "unwanted physical advances", "rude behavior", and "unsolicited physical affection", almost all convention appearances for Vic Mignogna were cancelled.

Mignogna, best known as the voice of Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, has made more convention guest appearances than anyone else currently in the FanCons.com guest database. In 2018, he was a guest at 34 conventions. He had made two guest appearances in 2019 before the allegations were brought into the spotlight by an article on Anime News Network.

Days after his appearance at a number of future conventions had been cancelled, Mignogna made an appearance at Bak-Anime where he offered an apology in a panel which was recorded by fans. Following that convention appearance, several additional allegations came forward. It was announced by both Rooster Teeth and Funimation that Mignogna would not be cast in any future roles. His number of guest cancellations currently totals thirteen conventions. Only four conventions still have Mignogna on their guest list.

Tupelo Con, one of the remaining four, has stated, "We are currently reviewing the allegations and talking to fans through our page so that we can make the best decision for our fans and event. We will be making a final decision soon based on the information we have seen so far, and the fan base. We should have an announcement within the next couple of days regarding our findings and decision."

The other two remaining conventions on Mignogna's schedule, Central PA Comic Con and Savannah Mega Comic Con, did not reply to our inquiries. Both conventions also appear to be deleting all inquiries related to Vic Mignogna which have been posted on their Facebook pages.

A-Kon, the longest-running anime convention in North America, announced today that the convention, previously organized by Phoenix Entertainment, will be run by a new, unnamed owner starting in 2019. The convention, previously scheduled for June 6-9 in Forth Worth, Texas, will now be held June 27-30 at an unnamed venue in Dallas Texas.

In addition to the ownership, date, and venue change, A-Kon announced that it will start mailing badges, but only for "A-Kon+" VIP badges. Anyone pre-registered before January 15, 2019 will received a complimentary upgrade to A-Kon+.

The announcement states that anyone who had previously made hotel reservations through Hotels for Hope will have their reservations transferred to "one of our host hotels for 2019." Hotels for Hope will contact those with reservations to confirm the location, rates, and details. There will be a cost difference, but A-Kon says, "this should help save a little money." Anyone who has reserved a room on their own and not using Hotels for Hope will be on their own to cancel their existing reservation and obtain a new one.

A-Kon says that they will be "rebooting" their web site soon and will disable room booking until it's updated to match the new location.

The announcement also references a price increase, but says that they have "decided to postpone any price changes while we complete our reboot and catch up on announcements."

We have no additional information about the new owners or new venue at this time. On A-Kon's Facebook page, attendees are not reacting well to the news. Many are questioning the move just five months before the event, the web site not being updated with the announcement, and the name of the venue or new owners not being mentioned at all. Some are pointing out that the date change also impacts those that have already booked airline travel that cannot change their dates without expensive change fees. Any questions being answered are mostly being answered by A-Kon with referrals to Hotels for Hope or quoted text from the announcement and no new information being offered.

Amazing Comic Con Aloha announced at 9:44am HST today, what would have been the first day of the convention, that it would be rescheduled due to Hurricane Lane.

The announcement by Jimmy Jay, founder of Amazing Comic Con states, "We watched the weather closely and as hurricane lane weakened we made a decision to utilize the vendors, talent and media that had made it to Hawaii to still move forward with our show but due to circumstances beyond Amazing Comic Conventions Control the convention center became unavailable for use. The safety of our attendees and guests is paramount to us."

In response to those who have asked about refunds after flying in for the convention, they have been told, "Thank you for reaching out, I completely understand your concerns and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. We are currently working with the convention center to see what our options are with regards to the future of the event. As soon as we have a full assessment of what the situation is, we will be in contact with our attendees ASAP when more information becomes available. If you have additional concerns or questions please feel free to send us a message or email."

There has been no new date for the convention announced, but that doesn't help those who had already flown in for the convention who are upset that they likely won't be able to fly back for the re-scheduled convention due to travel costs. Had the convention, Hawai'i Convention Center, or Hawai'i Tourism Authority decided to cancel sooner, perhaps on Wednesday when a hurricane warning was issued, travelers who had not arrived would very likely have been able to reschedule or cancel flights with their airlines for no fee.

For more than 24 hours, rumors have been circulating about Izumicon which is scheduled for August 31st through September 2nd in Midwest City, Oklahoma. It has all the appearances of a cancelled convention without anyone from staff specifically saying if it has been cancelled or not.

Sometime in the last week, the convention's web site had been modified to make every page look like the home page. The convention's Eventbrite page was also modified to no longer sell tickets even though it had previously stated an August 31st deadline. Nothing has been posted on Izumicon's Twitter since August 6th and there have been no staff posts on their Facebook page since an August 7th post encouraging people to book their hotel rooms by August 10th.

On an unofficial Izumicon Facebook group, there are multiple screenshots claiming that all the convention's directors have resigned. In the day since these first appeared, there have been no posts by staff members to dispute these claims or to communicate anything at all.

With no official word from staff yet, there is also no word on refunds if the convention is in fact cancelled. According to the Sheraton Midwest City Hotel's web site, cancellations of prepaid room reservations cannot be refunded but rooms that were not prepaid can be fully refunded if cancelled more than two days in advance.

Izumicon was founded in 2007. The convention name was sold to a new organizer for 2018. The previous organizers have no affiliation with the current convention.

We reached out to Izumicon staff for comment, but did not hear back. We will post an update if we do.

Washington, D.C. (August 12, 2018)​ - The official attendance for Otakon 2018 has bounced back up from a slower year, Otakorp Inc. has announced. The final number, including all departments, is 29,293.

The number is up roughly 5,000 from the 2017 final number of 24,894. The final attendance number includes total memberships/attendees, both pre-registered and at door, as well as staff, dealers, artists, industry, contractors, guests, and members of the registered press.

Significantly, the total number of paid registrations -- 26,590 -- exceeds last year's total attendance numbers, according to convention president Andrew Zerrlaut.

Zerrlaut said, "Thank you to everyone who attended or supported Otakon 2018! We are thrilled to be back in Washington, D.C. and are looking forward to next year. We are already hard at work planning the next, best Otakon yet. Please save the dates for July 26-28, 2019."

This was the second year the convention was held in Washington, D.C.

Otakon 2019 will be held from July 26 to 28 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.

ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its twenty-sixth year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Historically, Otakon has drawn up to 34,000 people for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 100,000 turnstile attendees). Otakon is a membership-based convention sponsored by Otakorp Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff - we are run by fans, for fans.